Stable
by maile
Summary: Updated 30 October, 2004. It's been a few years since the heists and things aren't what they used to be for Dom and Letty.
1. Default Chapter

_A/N- Here's a new fic for your reading enjoyment. This one isn't related to the last one, but for those of you who did read _Making A Mess of Things, _you may notice a lot of similarities in dialogue and my interpretation of the characters. One difference to keep in mind though is that Letty's full name in this piece is Alicia, not Leticia. I had to differentiate somehow- ;-) _

**__**

**STABLE**

****

It's not who you know, it's what you know, but it doesn't hurt to know people neither.

That's what my father used to say all the time.

I didn't know he was my father back then.

I'm glad I know who he is now.

Some people are born into perfect families.

My family was born when I walked into Dominic Torretto's garage.

XXXXXX

It was raining. I was cold and the door was open so I crawled in.

I was careful not to make any noise. I didn't want to have to go back.

Someone was singing along with the radio. They weren't very good.

I inched closer and saw a bald man bent over a car. He was the only person there.

He had a plate of sandwiches sitting on a table near him.

I was hungry so I ran out to grab one.

The man stood up just as I did it. He looked at me and smiled so I knew I was okay.

I smiled back at him and took the sandwich while looking him straight in the eye.

He said something to me but I didn't understand. I didn't understand most of what people said here. It was different from where I came from.

I smiled at him and had another sandwich.

He bent down to talk to me some more but I still couldn't understand him.

Finally he gave and said a word that angry people say.

That I understood. My face must have perked up cause I giggled cause I knew he said a bad word.

He laughed and ruffled my hair.

Then the man went to the phone and called someone.

He sounded angry, but he came back and tried to smile at me.

It was still raining so I staid. He let me eat all the sandwiches and he gave me a soda.

He changed the station so I understood the music. I liked that.

I was tired. He saw me yawn and went into the lockers and got a blanket. He put it over me on the sofa I was sitting on. I fell asleep.

I woke up cause I heard a car door close.

Some lady came into the building. She was angry.

I could hear it in her walk even before I heard her voice.

She argued with the man. He pointed at me but I was hiding under the blankets.

Her face softened and she walked over to me.

"Mucho gusto me llamo Alicia. Como estas?" she said softly looking down at me with gentle eyes. I can see the rain on her. It must still be raining hard outside cause she has some on her face and her hair and her clothes.

I pulled the blankets down and looked at her. "Me llamo Roberto."

She smiled. "Roberto? That's a wonderful name. That man over there- that's Dominic. Can you say Dominic?"

"Dominic." The name sounded funny to me.

"He's my friend," she said sitting next to me. She smelled nice. She was wearing nice clothes too.

"But you were fighting with him," I tell her. "I heard you."

"Yes. He makes me angry sometimes. But it's okay to fight with people you love sometimes." She looks at Dominic and motions to him to come over. "Dom."

"Hola," he says waving. He talks funny, but he's trying.

He asks her something and she frowns but nods.

"Dom wants to know if you want to stay here or if you need to go somewhere after the rain stops." She is careful to sound like either choice is okay.

I know I should be careful too, but I like this place and that man. I shake my head. "I want to stay here."

She nods and tells him for me.

He looks sad for a little bit but nods and smiles. He talks to her again and she sighs.

"Dominic wants to know if you are still hungry and would you like me to cook for you."

"What can you cook?" I ask.

Her nose flares but I can tell she's not really mad, not at me. "Anything. Pasteles, quesadillas, picadillio, arepas, tostones, spaghetti, beans and rice, scrambled eggs- anything. I'm a good cook." She winks at me and nods her head at the man. "How do you think he got so fat?"

I looked at the man. He was big, but he wasn't fat, not really. He just looked really strong. "Can I have some quesadillas please?"

She nods and asks Dominic something.

He laughs and says in broken Spanish, "Good choice kid. She makes the best quesadillas."

She gives him the finger and takes my hand.

"Would you like to take a shower while I cook Roberto? Tio Dominic has a nephew your size. You can have some of his clothes to wear when you're done and Dominic can wash and dry your wet clothes for you."

I nod and she passes me to the man.

"If you need anything Roberto, I'll be in the kitchen. Dominic will help you as best as he can. Remember, he can understand you better than you'll probably be able to understand him."

She's laughing at him, but he doesn't know it cause he doesn't understand her.

She looks at him with a hard look on her face, but when she sees he's not looking back at her, her face gets girly. "He's a little slow, but he… he's a good man."

xxxxx


	2. Chapter 2

**Stable #2 **

****

_Alicia's point of view:_

3 am. Who's calling me at 3 am?

"Hello?"

"Letty, I have a situation."

"No. No more situations Dominic." I hang up the phone and curl myself around a pillow. I feel a thick arm give me a questioning squeeze and feel a voice mumble in my ear.

"It's nothing, go back to sleep."

The phone rings again.

"What the fuck," I growl and reach for the phone again.

"Is something wrong with Mia or the Brat?"

"No, but-"

Click.

It rings again.

"Will you just fucking listen for a change?" Dominic growls.

Click.

Ring.

"Dom, I'm trying to fucking sleep. I have to be out the door in three and a half hours," I hiss. "So catch the fucking hint and stop calling me."

"No. Come down to the old house. I'm in the garage."

Click.

Oh HELL FUCKING no. He did not just hang up on me without an explanation.

"What was that?" David asks.

"Nothing, I don't know. The bastard hung up on me." I sit up and crack my neck, then my back. Getting out of bed I look over my shoulder at the naked man in my bed.

"What?" I ask, pulling a shirt on.

"Nothing. I've just never seen you… like this." He's evaluating me as he lounges, still wrapped in the covers.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I growl at him as I pull a pair of $250 jeans on. If Dom thinks I'm crawling under a car to help him with some shit at three in the morning, he's got another thing coming.

"You're acting like one of our pro bono clients," David says with a hint of a smile on his face as he reaches for his glasses.

I shake my head and grab my keys. "Don't wait up."

"I'm just going to go back to my place," he says, getting out of bed. "It's quieter there."

I roll my eyes and slam out of the apartment, telling myself I'm going over there to give him a piece of my mind.

xxxx

"What is it this time Dominic?" I ask as if there's been a previous time. I haven't talked to him for five years, but I'm cold and it's wet and I'm not dressed for this. I don't own anything that belongs in a garage any more.

"There's a boy on the couch. An illegal probably. I need you to talk to him for me Letty." Dom says, wiping his greasy hands on a rag.

I melt. Dom and I may hate each other now, but we both have a secret soft spot for kids.

I look over at the couch and see a dark haunted pair of eyes peeking out at me and I'm gone…

xxxx

After Roberto's in the shower, Dom comes to the kitchen and sits down.

"Why'd you call me?" I ask as I check on the quesadillas.

"I knew you'd come." He's honest to a fault. "Mia's too far away and her Spanish isn't that good to begin with. Vince has the new baby. Leon's out of town." _And jesse's dead_… he doesn't say it but we both think it.

"You don't speak Spanish anymore?" I look at him and cross my arms.

"No." He's curt and grim. "Want a beer?"

"I have to drive back." I don't drink anymore but he doesn't-

"Shit I forgot. You don't drink anymore." He laughs and goes to the fridge. He pulls out a diet coke with lime and offers it to me.

I take it and rub my eyes.

"What are going to do with him?" I ask.

He pulls out another soda. "Let him stay as long as he needs to."

"What about his family?"

"Probably doesn't have one worth worrying about if he's walking around LA at 3 in the morning in the rain." He pops the soda open and leans back in the chair. He's looked better.

I swallow and nod, wondering why I noticed how beaten he looks and why it bothers me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

****

Dom's P.O.V.

She's clean now and cold too, like glittering steel. She's beautiful.

Thank you Roberto, for brining her to me this morning.

"You don't speak Spanish anymore?" she asks me with just a hint of condescension.

"No." Not since you left. There's no point. I can't stand it. Hurts too much.

xxxx

The boy comes down, dressed in Ben's clothes. God he's so small. Why would anyone let a child like this go uncared for? If he were mine I'd never let him go without.

"Hungry?" The word is difficult for me to remember. It's been too long since Letty left.

Roberto nods and sits at the table. "You sit down too," he says to Letty.

She smiles and sits next to him, across from me.

We each eat one quesadilla while Roberto gobbles down four. I want to eat that many too, but she's only made six. I miss her cooking. If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up.

"I can stay here?" He asks, looking back and fort between us.

"Please. Mi casa es su casa." I smile when he giggles.

Letty smiles too, even when she looks me in the eye.

It's been too long.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N I'm_ posting a bunch at once today, but don't get spoiled. Please review though! I'd like to hear what you think.

**Chapter 4**

Roberto's p.o.v.

"You're going to stay too?" I ask the lady as I finish the last quesadilla. I like these. People eat them a lot here, but we didn't eat them so much at home.

Her smile cracks. "No." She sounds sad.

I wait for her to say more.

"I don't live here anymore," she says, looking at Dominic briefly before she looks back at me.

"Why not?"

She looks at Dominic again and shrugs. "This isn't my house anymore. I have my own house now."

"Is this a bad place?" I frown. I look around. "It looks nice. Why would you need a new house?"

She rubs her eyes. "I had to move on. One day you'll move on too Roberto, when you're big and strong and ready to conquer the world," she jokes, making big fake muscles on her arms.

I laugh. Dominic does too. Alicia looks funny.

"He's still bigger. And stronger. You should have staid here." I don't know why I say the last part, but I do.

The man laughs and pats my head. "I think so too." He bends over and whispers to me. "Women are crazy."

That makes me laugh again and she laughs too cause he said it too loud and she heard.

"Will you stay tonight in case he needs something?" the man asks her half in my language and half in theirs.

It's hard for me to understand him, so I tell the lady that.

She laughs again and agrees with me. She tells me that no matter what language the man speaks, she doesn't under stand him. She says it like it's a bad thing, but her eyes are soft. She used to love him I think.

I like this place.

It is better than Havana was.


	5. Chapter 5

**Stable, Chapter 5**

Letty's p.o.v.

Roberto is a delight. He brings out a side of Dom that is generous and loving and beautiful. I haven't seen him since before Ben was born so I have no way of knowing if he treats his nephew the same way.

By the looks of the room Dom's set up for Mia's son, I'd wager he does treat Ben pretty damn well. We tuck the boy in to Ben's bed and Dom leads me to the guest bedroom. I used to try to spend nights in here when I was angry with him. By morning he always carried me back where I belonged.

"Thank you for coming."

I nod. "What will you do?"

He shrugs. "He needs a home. I need a son."

I flinch. The words sting.

"I didn't mean it that way Letty." He is quick to say but the damage is done.

"You never meant it Dom. Don't worry. I learned that about you a long time ago." How many minutes has it been since we last saw each other? It can't have been years since I'm already regressing, loosing control.

"I love you Alicia." He's almost touching me. "I would have loved her too."

"Like hell you would have. If you didn't mean it then, how could you mean it now?" I step away, backing into the guest room. "That wasn't what you said then, so don't think saying it now will make it better." I close the door. Leaning my head against the cold wood, I close my eyes. No matter how hard I squeeze them shut, I can't make the memories disappear.


	6. chapter 6

_A/N- as you may have noticed, each chapter is short cause it's from a different character's pov._

_Please review and let me know how you like this new approach. And how you like the story- you know the drill!_

Stable Chapter 6.

Dom's p.o.v.

Please God help me keep this Dream alive or take me before I wake.

She still hates me. I still love her.

Even her furry is beautiful to behold.

I won't let my pride get in the way this time.

I told her that I loved her because I wanted her to know.

It's the closest thing to going back in a time machine and changing the past as I can do.

I brush my teeth and walk back to check on Roberto.

The boy is sleeping soundly. He looks like he belongs here and something in my heart tells me that he does. I realize that from the moment he walked into my garage, I knew that I'd offer him a home with me for as long as he needed one. I will be his father for as long as he will let me think of him as my son.

And if she let's me, I'll give him the most precious gift that I know of: her love. No family of mine would be complete without her.

Thinking of her, I can't help but walk by the guest bedroom.

I hear her crying and it breaks my heart.

Without thinking, I open the door and walk in. I pick her up and carry her back to our room. I've missed even this part of being us.

"She would have been his age," I say, hugging her. "I know that. She would have had eyes like yours and hair like mine used to be. You'd spend hours brushing it out and one day when she's older she would have been bitter she didn't get your hair."

I've thought about what should have been a lot. A lump rises in my throat, and I have to force it down. "I always loved your hair. I never told you that, but I thought it was so soft and beautiful."

She cries harder into my chest and I hold her tighter.

"You told me you didn't want her Dom."

"I've lonely lied to you twice Mira. That was one of them." I struggle to keep composed. I promised that I would tell her these things if I had the chance.

"You'd already lost her. I wanted… I thought it would be easier. I tired to make it sound like we didn't have time for her so you'd see there was still so much more for you here."

She believes me. I can tell from her breathing. It's changed now, less ragged than before.

"I'll help you with Roberto Dom, but that's it."

I squeeze her tight knowing that it's more than I deserve but less than I intend to settle for.


	7. chapter 7

Stable : Chapter 7

Roberto's p.o.v.

The man and lady were very nice. They let me stay and they taught me English. He said I didn't have to tell him about before, but I could if I wanted to.

I told him about how the three of us came on a boat, but there was a storm and tia and rosa got sick. I told him how I had to be very quiet on the boat and how tia told me not to cry and I had to stay quiet while we rode in the truck. I cried when I told him how tia and rosa didn't wake up one day and how I ran away when the men who drove the truck opened the door.

The man didn't laugh at me when I cried. He said he was sorry that bad things happened to my family but that he was sure they were in heaven now. He said he missed his tia and his mami and papi too.

He asked if I wanted to live with him forever because I could if I wanted to.

I told him I wanted to if Alicia could come back and live in the house with us. He said he wanted her to stay but she was the one who didn't want to live with him. Then he told me that maybe she would stay if I asked her to, but not to be sad if she didn't.

Everyday I asked Alicia to stay. Everyday she said, "One more day Roberto, then I have to go."

At first I was sad when she said that. But she staid everyday.

Dominic's Spanish got better, but my English got better faster. We talk in English now at our house. Dominic says it's my house now too.

Alicia is my friend, but she's not Dominic's friend always. She is helping me to stay with him. She is a lawyer.

Dominic told me that she fixes families like he fixes cars. That's when he first told me its what you know, not who. I don't know what that means exactly, but Dom says it's a good thing cause it means that if I study and work hard I can do anything I want to when I grow up.

But I don't want to be a lawyer. I want to be a mechanic just like Dominic.


	8. chapter 8

_Thanks for all of the reviews. I do appreciate them- all of them!_

_I'm starting finals now, so my updating will be spotty, but don't worry, I'll finish the story._

Chapter 8- Letty's p.o.v.

Setting up an adoption is never easy. This one was worse than usual. Take one minor, undocumented illegal alien and add one single male with a criminal record, and the result is a freaking headache.

If Dom had asked for any other kind of legal advice, I would have told him to go to hell.

But for Berto… I didn't even charge for the Excedrin.

This kid is Dom's saving grace. I'm not doing any of it for Dom. I'm doing it for Berto.

I took Berto shopping on Saturday to give Dom the day off. Really I just wanted Berto to myself, but it was as good an excuse as any. I'd known him for a handful of days, but Berto just had this… magnetism. Almost like gravity.

We walked by a barber shop and the kid was fascinated. He started chattering faster and faster, reverting to Spanish instantaneously.

I caved of course.

You should have seen Dom's face when the kid and I walked in.

He was… he was proud. Excited and proud.

Dom said he wanted to show Berto off so he made us put our coats back on and took us straight back into the city for dinner.

Of course Dom took us to Paesano's. I shouldn't have been surprised or uncomfortable with it. But I was, and that scared me, I'll admit. They still knew him there- hell they even remembered me. So when we walked in with Berto between us, his head shaved just like Dom's, wearing little Timberlands and the whole bit- I can't say I blame them.

"Senora!" Luca cried out. "Where have you been hiding? With this handsome devil? He looks just like his father!" The restaurant owner squatted down and rubbed Berto's bald head. "But with his mother's Angel eyes!"

I froze. I didn't know what to say. I just let Dom laugh as Luca kissed my cheeks and took my coat.

"This," Dom said proudly, "Is my son Roberto."

In his little boy voice Berto practiced his English. "It is nice to meet you." He looked at Dom apprehensively to see if he got it right. Seeing Dom nod approvingly, Berto puffed up with pride. Just like how Dom does.

When we sat down, Luca gave us a large table so Berto could color. I sat across from Dom and tried not to say anything. We were in public. I'd left making scenes behind when I'd left Dom all those years ago. Alicia Rodriguez did not have fights in public.

"What?" Dom finally said. He was looking at me like I was completely insane.

_I HATE IT WHEN HE DOES THAT._

"Couldn't we have gone somewhere else? Anywhere? They think he's ours Dom."

Dom's eyes narrowed. "He is."

"No," I say tightly, trying to keep my voice calm. "He's yours. I'm your attorney in this matter, not your nursemaid."

Dom leans forward across the table and strokes my hand. "You love him. I know you do. Is it because I love him too that you don't want to be part of his life?"

It takes everything in me not to flinch and pull my hand away. His touch burns through my defenses, but I ignore the sensation best I can. Because he's right; that's exactly it. Of course I refuse to tell him that.

"You're wrong. I don't want to be a part of YOUR life Dominic. I don't want you in mine."

My phone starts ringing. Oh thank God. Saved by the bell. I pull it out of my purse and head outside.

"Hello?"

"Baby, where have you been? I've been trying to get you for three days now," David says without bothering with a greeting. "I haven't seen you since that night your ex called. You'd think you'd take the time to at least call your current man to wish him a safe trip."

Where Dom gets pissed, David gets perturbed.

I smile into the phone, enjoying this white-collar version of jealousy. "David, I do believe I gave you one hell of a send off. As I recall, you did black out once or twice, so perhaps you don't remember."

I listen to him laugh, the tension disappearing from his voice.

"I'm sorry I've been m.i.a. You know I was busy with the Anderson case and now I'm trying to help Dom with this thing-"

"What thing?" David asks, not even bothering to hide his curiosity. "He get busted for running a chop-shop or something?"

"Whatever. No, it's nothing like that." Now it's my turn to be tense. "Look, I've already said I'm sorry I haven't been sitting by the phone waiting for your call. When do you get back?"

"Ouch. That was harsh. I don't get back till tomorrow. You're off the hook by the way; the firm is sending a car to meet my flight. Listen, why don't we have dinner and we'll talk about all of this? You can fill me in on what's been going on with you for the last ten days."

I sigh and agree. My guilt about having spent so much time with the boys outweighs my temporary annoyance with my man. Could it really have been three days since I checked my personal messages? "Fine. Dinner sounds good. Your place or mine?"

"Mine, if that's okay." I can tell he's smiling. He's always smiling. He never lets things bother him for very long, so when I'm with him I don't let them bother me for very long either.

"Sure." I've missed having David around. Usually I tell him everything about everything, but somehow I haven't mentioned the Roberto situation yet. "I have a lot to tell you about."

"Okay. I'll call you when I'm home. I miss you baby," he says slowly with just a hint of the southern drawl he's tried to leave behind.

"I miss you too David," I say softly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I hang up and go back inside.

Dom is bent over Roberto, helping the little boy write something.

Berto looks up and sees me then pushes Dom's hands away quickly. He stands up and runs toward me, jumping into my out-stretched arms, careful not to let anything happen to the piece of paper he's brought with him.

"What's this kiddo?" I ask, kissing his smooth bald scalp.

"I made it while you were on the phone. Dominic only helped a little." Roberto hands me the paper and then kisses my cheek.

"In English?" I ask with an encouraging smile.

Biting his lower lip, Berto thinks for a second and then says slowly, "This… is… for you."

"Bien! Very good Roberto. Thank you." I carry him back to the table, set him down in his chair and then look at my gift. It is a picture of three stick figures holding hands: Dominic, Roberto, and I. Robert has written the words Papa and Mama over the figures that represent Dom and I.

My smile falters and I feel Berto's hand in mine. So small and vulnerable. "Dom says he is going to be my new papa cause I don't have one anymore. I don't have a mama either. Will you be my new mama? I think Dom would let you live in our house." Roberto is so eager- for him this is all so simple.

"I don't know what to say Roberto. Thank you so much for asking me, it means a lot to me. But I have my own house. You know that." I look to Dom for help. He is none.

"Are you someone else's mama already?" Berto frowns.

"No, I'm not. If I had a child, I would want them to be just like you." I kiss his forehead again. "Can I keep this?"

"Will you promise to think about being my mama? I'm a very good boy. You say so all the time." Berto is so somber now that it breaks my heart.

"Of course. In the whole world, if I got to choose someone to be my son, I would choose you. If I got to choose to be anyone's mother, it would be yours." I try to smile reassuringly, but my eyes are filling with tears.

Thankfully, that was enough for Roberto for now. He gives me a huge grin, a sloppy kiss and a tight hug, and then turns abruptly back to his coloring.

I look at Dom intending to tell him with my eyes that he was dead for leaving me to suffer. But big bad Dominic was teary-eyed. He actually looked about thirty seconds away from crying.

Dear God, what am I getting myself into?


	9. chapter 9

_AN- Hey all.__ Thanks for your reviews. You've been asking good questions and making great suggestions. I'm not one for individual "shout outs," but please do know I appreciate your comments. (Even if I don't seem to act on them right away!) All things will be revealed in time. _

Chapter 9.

Dom's P.O.V.

Letty came back to the house & helped Berto get ready for bed. He asked her to stay, like he had every night since he arrived.

She hesitated.

She always does, but this time she _really_ hesitated.

When she finally caved, she told him that this really was the last night she'd be staying over. He was a big boy now, she said.

And after tomorrow, things would be different.

Her friend David was coming home tomorrow, so she was going to have to spend some time with him too.

I stood in the doorway to Berto's room and watched this… this nightmare unfold in front of me.

Berto didn't seem to catch the difference in her answer. But I did.

I knew who David was of course. Mia had mentioned him more than once.

Somehow I'd assumed it wasn't as serious as Mia seemed to think since Letty hadn't mentioned him at all since she'd got here. He'd gone from being this ghost who haunted my thoughts of Letti, to less than that- to nothing. He wasn't real. I'd forgotten about him, made him disappear from this new life we had together.

He was too fucking real now.

_DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! _The blood roared through my brain. I couldn't think, couldn't hear, couldn't breathe. __

All I saw was her.

She was kneeling next to Berto's bed, tucking him in.

Tucking MY son in to his bed in MY house.

No- that's not right. _Our son in Our house. _

She'd barely walked past me when I pounced.

"You're going to break his heart Alicia. Is this David worth it?" I growl, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

"Jesus!" She jumped and covered her mouth. "You fucking startled me Dominic." She glares at me as her hand moves from her mouth to her chest.

Good. I'm glad she's scared. Now I'm not the only one.

She grabs my hand and drags me to the living room before she says another word.

She doesn't look at me as she starts to pace the floor. "You don't get to make me feel guilty about spending time with my boyfriend, Dominic."

I stare at her, watching her run her hands through her hair. This scene is oddly and impossibly familiar, but I know we haven't been here like this before. Our fights were always explosive back then. Our lives were explosive.

But the pain from our past is still with us. We need not have had _this _moment before to have lived through this pain before.

Hard words force themselves to be spoken in my voice. "We have a chance here Letty. Are you going to push aside the possibility this family, the one we were supposed to have? Just so you can be with some gringo lawyer?"

She looks at me and flares her nose. "What, and you're Mister Mexican now? You're pretty damn gringo yourself Dominic _To-ret-to._"

I just stare at her, crossing my arms over my chest. For better or worse, she's always been able to read my face. Even all these years later, I don't have to say anything for her to know what I'm thinking.

She stops pacing and sits on the arm of the couch. Her knees are bouncing up and down, filled with nervous energy. "Don't. No. David is my chance to have a family. David and I are the same. My life is different now, you made sure of that, remember? We don't have a child together Dominic. Roberto is your son. Not mine. "

"That's only because you won't let him be yours." I sit on the coffee table, making sure to place myself directly in front of her. "This is our second chance Mira."

"No." She folds her arms across her chest just as I had a moment earlier. She looks away, out the window.

That ghost is there, visible on her face, when she speaks again.

Three little words. That's all it takes to almost bring me to my knees.

"I love him."

And she means it. I can tell.

"We love you," I say desperately. If I reach for her now, will she pull away?

"He lets me lead my own life Dominic. He doesn't impose his world on mine." She looks into my eyes, trying to make me understand. "David puts me first, Dominic. You never did that."

"That's not true!" I shout as I jump to my feet.

She flinches back, surprised. "Shh!" She cuts me off, putting a hand forcefully on my arm. "You'll scare him." She looks upstairs, toward my son's room, as if it's the sleeping boy who's afraid right now and not her.

Shit. I didn't mean to scare you this time Letty. I love you. I've loved you since the day you turned 16. Can't you see that?

I take a deep breath and try to steady myself before I speak. Try to let her steady herself too so she'll be able to listen to what it is that I need to say.

"That's not true," I say again, softer. "I've put you first for the last six fucking years."

"Bull shit." She shakes her head in disbelief and watches me take my seat again. "I wasn't even here. How'd you put me first if we weren't even together?"

"Where would you be now if we had been?" I put my head in my hands and stare at the floor. "Who would you be?" Rubbing my temple, I look back up at her. "You wouldn't be Alicia Rodriguez, recent law school graduate and associate at Trecker and Butterworth's."

"So you're saying you gave me this life, the one I have now? That's how you put me first?" She shakes her head again. "I was happy with you Dom. I was happy with who I was then."

"You were getting restless." We stare at each other, knowing it's true. "If you were so happy with who you were Letty, you wouldn't have changed. You wouldn't have become who you are now."

She swallows, closing her eyes for a moment. I watch her struggle with what I've just said. "That's not fair. We were all… unsettled after the heists."

"If life were fair," I say, looking her dead in the eye, "it would have been me that died. Not Jesse or the baby." My words startle her. My voice is tired as I add, "You know it's true, and don't you fucking deny it."

"Jesus Dominic." She looks green. "Christ. You didn't shoot Jesse, you had nothing to do with that."

"But I did have something to do with you loosing her."

"We don't even know for sure it was a girl Dominic. I wasn't even sure I was pregnant until I miscarried." She cracks all of the knuckles on both her hands, then cracks her back and her neck. Obviously this conversation isn't making her uncomfortable at all.

"I knew." Her look says she doesn't believe me.

"I knew your body Letty. You'd put on just a little weight, but it was all there." I put my hand on my lower abdomen. "You were late. In those last few days, the smell of beer made you gag. All the signs were there."

"Then why-"

"Because I thought it was safe. It was the last time. We were going to retire to Mexico and raise our family. I had it all figured out." I shake my head and laugh.

She looks like I hit her. The one sin I didn't commit against her. I never used my hands. Just everything else I had.

"I sent you away because you deserved better than me."

"But now that I've found it, you don't want me to have it?"

"David isn't better than me. He's just some blond trust fund bitch who uses two dollar words like they're going out of style," I spit. "David is shit, and maybe I'm still a shit too. But Roberto **is **better."

"You think you can just call me after all this time and offer Roberto as a substitute for what we lost?" The old Letty would have had fire in her voice when she asked me this. Alicia sounds more like Mia- more hurt than weak.

"If I really thought it was that simple to replace one child lost with another, I would have done it six years ago." I take her hand and try to make her feel what I'm feeling using sheer will power.

"You sent me away." Her voice cracks, but she holds my gaze.

"I did it because I loved you. I don't know much, but I knew you were better than all that Bonnie and Clyde shit we were pulling." I rub her palm and smile weakly. "But I can offer you an Ozzie and Harriet kind of life now."

She laughs a little and lets me wipe the tears off her cheek.

"I always thought it would be you and me," she admits softly.

"It can still be you and me." I squeeze her hand. All my cards are on the table.

"What would you have done if Roberto hadn't come along?"

I swallow hard. "Waited and kept on making deals with God till that day came where you either walked through that door on your own or He gave me a reason to pull you back through it."

"You made deals with God? You never came to Mass with me after your father died. You said you'd never go again."

"Things change," I say as I got down on my knees and put my hands together. "I used to do this every night and every morning you know? Since the day you left."

I bow my head and say the words that were all too familiar. "Dear God, let her be happy. I've done wrong and I know I don't deserve her, but I'm trying now. I swear I'll keep trying to do right and fix the things I've done in Your eyes and hers till the day I die. So one day, maybe if you serious about that redemption thing, you'll send her back to me."

I make the sign of the cross and look up at her.

Tears are streaming from her eyes. She wipes her face from her forehead to her chin, making a f fist slowly and knocking her forehead twice. "You think it worked? You think He was listening to you?"

I giver her that look that used to melt her. "You're here. Roberto's here."

She closes her eyes and balls her hands again placing one on each temple and squeezing them together as if she's trying to contain all the thoughts I know must be flying through her head.

"I haven't seen you in six years," she says in a ragged voice.

"If it were over you would have told me to go to hell already Letty." I'm still on my knees in front of her now. Six years ago this would never have happened but since then things have changed.

She sucks in air and holds her breath so long I begin to worry.

"Baby- please. Talk to me," I beg.

She sobs and shakes her head.

"Mira…" I reach out and stroke her face but she won't have any of it.

She slaps my hand away. "No!"


	10. chapter 10

_A/N- A word of caution: things get a little intimate in this chapter. Please don't read this if you know you shouldn't be._

Letty's POV:

"If it were over you would have told me to go to hell already Letty."

His voice- God. Doesn't he know I can't tell him to go to hell because I don't want him there with me? These last six years I've been there and back. I thought I was out, thought I'd done my time in Purgatory. Then this.

"Baby Please."

I can't say yes. I won't say yes. Berto will understand. I can be Auntie Letty. He'll see. The sob bursts out and I shake my head in denial.

"Mira-" He tries to-

"No!" I push him away and stand up.

"I don't know who you take me for Dominic Torretto. But. I. Am. Not. Her. Any. More." I put space between us.

He's still on his knees. "What would you have me do Letty?" His voice is tired.

"**I don't know**." I find myself on my knees next to him and somehow his face is in my hands. "I used to love you so fucking much."

"I still love you," Dom says it like it's an oath, a solemn vow.

I search his eyes for something that will stop the doubt.

He kisses me, offering me physical proof instead of verbal. In six years not one man has ever been able to make the memory of Dominic Torretto fade. Even Father Time failed at that.

Dom doesn't start with the nibbling kisses he used to tease me with. He plays dirty. He picks me up and lifts me onto the sofa. I sink into the cushions and his kiss simultaneously. When he sucks on my neck and collar bone, everything else disappears- including our time apart.

We made love right there. I was surprised because it wasn't a mindless blur.

Dom stopped to ask me if I was on the pill.

I remember watching his face as it fell just a little when I said yes.

He did the oddest thing then- instead of just going ahead he stopped altogether.

"Are you sure you want to do this right now Letty?"

His voice was… I don't know how to describe it. I could here the hope, the fear, the hint of anger and frustration- everything. I could hear everything he wasn't saying in those words.

But it was a strange question. I'd taken off my own panties and helped him out of his boxers. That he was asking me, with that voice that spoke volumes even in his harsh whisper- I melted.

"Dominic, I- I want you." My teeth graze his neck and I reach up to kiss his lips again.

He places two fingers on my lips, stopping me. "But you love David."

I close my eyes and nod. "I do."

Dom shifted his weight back and began to pull himself away from me, but I stopped him. I locked my ankles around his hips and pulled him forward.

"No. Don't leave me." I feel his heart stop at my words. "Dominic please," I say fighting the urge to cry. "Make me believe you still love me."

"I do. Oh god Letty, I do love you. I'll always love you." He says the words over and over again.

I kiss him and lift my hips up to his. "Show me."


	11. ch 11

Berto's P.O.V.

Papa is happy today. He made a big breakfast for me before we went to mass. We go every week. Sometimes Alicia comes too, but not today.

She wasn't home when I woke up. I checked all over the house.

Papa said not to worry. "She'll be back kid."

"She's not mad?" I asked, just to make sure. "We're not in a fight are we?"

He frowned. "Mad? Why would she be- oh about last night? At dinner?" He laughed and threw me high in the air. "No Roberto! How silly. Roberto the Silly! She loves you." He kissed me on both cheeks and tossed me in the air again. "It's me she fights with, not you."

"But that's okay. She said so," I giggled.

"Oh yeah?" Papa said as he helped me with my tie.

I nod even though it makes it hard for him to make the loops. I don't think he minds cause he tossed me in the air and messed it up in the first place.

"When did she say that?" Papa asks.

"Before. When she first came. She said that even though you make her angry and you fight with her its okay cause it's okay to fight with people you love sometimes."

"She said that?! I knew it!" Papa laughed again and then threw me in the air again.

I just giggled and nodded my head cause I couldn't really do anything else.

"Roberto, you are my gift from God." Papa kept tossing me in the air till he said I was turning green.

"Papa I think you're loco."

"Si. Loco en amorada."

"With Letty?" I am hopeful. Papas should love mamas. My first papa loved my first mama. If Dominic loves Letty then maybe she will be my new mama after all.

"Yes little man, with Letty."


	12. ch 12

Letty's POV

Oh God. What have I done? I wasn't even drunk, not that being drunk would be a legally- stop it Letty.

David is going to hate me.

David doesn't have to know.

STOP Letty.

I frown and sink further into the depths of my shame and misery. The shower tiles greet me and engulf me in their cold embrace. They are probably room temperature but the water itself is hot. Anything less would be uncivilized.

David is less, a voice whispers in my mind. Dom is more. How is it that my fucked up inner voice thinks Dominic Torretto, abdicated King of the Streets is more civilized than David?

"I must be crazy." My voice is muted by the pounding water.

When did being with Dom become the easy way out?

It is now.

Breaking up with David is a no brainer.

I hated being cheated on. No one deserves that. Having cheated onDavid makes it clear that he isn't the one. It's messed up, but I tried a couple of times and could never cheat on-

"Faaaaack!" I scream & pound the wall.

I shake my head to clear it. I only succeed in whipping my wet hair into my face.

Spitting it out I sigh.

Things to do today:

Break up with David

And then?

Do I get back together with Dom and give Berto happily ever after? Is that the second task of the day?

Ah the phone rings. Well we can cross number one off the list.

Number two can be figuring out what numbers three and four will be.


	13. ch 13

Dom's P.O.V.

Roberto is beginning to worry. He's asked me 47 times when Letty is coming over. It's a quarter past 6 and I've run out of excuses.

Since it's a Sunday, he expected her over by now.

"Are you sure she's not mad with me?" Roberto squirms as I fix his tie again.

He won't let me take it off. He wants to look handsome for her in the tie she bought him yesterday. "So she will want to be my mama," he whispers to me as if it was a secret.

I shake my head no. "She's not mad at you, I promise."

"Is she mad with you?" he asks with accusatory eyes.

"I don't know little man." I pull him onto my lap. "If she is, she didn't tell me."

Roberto takes my hand and pulls me to the phone. "I want to talk to her."

I sigh and pick up the phone. I dial the number and hand him the phone.

"Hello?" he says in a small voice. If she hurts him now, how will I make it better?

He smiles with relief at something she says and starts to nod his head.

"You have to tell her with words Roberto. She can't see you nod," I whisper to him.

"Yes," he says blushing. "We went to Mass. I wore the tie you bought for me. Papa tried to make quesadillas, but I like yours better."

He is quiet while she talks. I watch him with envy. I wish she'd let me call her on the phone.

"Are you mad with him? Papa says you aren't mad with me but- are you mad with Papa?"

He looks at me while she talks to him. He's using both hands to hold the phone to his head.

"If he buys you flowers, will it make it better?"

She laughs- I can hear her laughing from a mile a way. I always could.

"Because boys buy flowers for girls when girls are mad with them. I saw it on the television." He looks so hopeful. I'd hate to tell him I've tried flowers with Letty and they have never worked.

All this time he's been speaking half in English, half in Spanish. I think he was trying to show her how much he's learned so she'll love him more. Neat trick if it works.

Now he's speaking only in Spanish, talking swiftly in a low voice. He's not looking at me which makes me wonder if he's trying to hide something.

He makes a face and hands me the phone.

"Hello?"

"Did you put him up to that?" She's angry. Ah Letty. This is almost like old times.

"No. He said he wanted to talk to you so I dialed the phone for him." Even though I know better, I can't keep the laughter out of my voice.

In the background I hear traffic. "Listen, if you have time, come over for the kid's sake. He doesn't understand." How can he, I think to myself. I don't really get it either.

"I was afraid of this Dominic."

"You shouldn't talk on the phone while you drive."

She laughs. "Now you're giving me driving tips? Goddamn this day ust keeps getting better and better."

"Just come over before you go to your boyfriend's house alright?" The laughter is gone. I sound like a pouting bitch, but fuck it.


	14. fin

Letty's POV

"Can't do that Dom." Why am I doing this? This is messed up. Seriously crazy.

"Jesus Letty, don't do this. Why can't you just stop by for like 15 minutes?"

I turn off the engine and get out of my car. "Two reasons. First off I've already been over to David's. Second- he's not my boyfriend any more. So technically..."

I hang up the phone and pick up Roberto who's been waiting for me at the back door.

"Letty? Letty?" Dom barks into the phone.

Roberto giggles and I kiss his cheek. "Shhh!"

But it's too late, we've been found out.

Dom turns around and jumps when he sees us. "Jesus Letty! You scared me."

I laugh and let him hug me and Berto.

"Good. We're even. Probably the best way to start a relationship, don't you think? As equals?"


End file.
